Cross Country August 19, 2026 Claire Gay, UMW Sports Information

Montana Western Women’s XC Chosen Eighth in Preseason Coaches’ Poll

DILLON, Mont. – The Montana Western women's cross country program was picked to finish eighth in the 2026 Frontier Conference Women's Cross Country Coaches' Preseason Poll, the league office announced Wednesday.

Defending Frontier women's cross country champ Carroll was elected to repeat in 2026.

Montana Tech (91), Dakota State (74), Rocky Mountain (71), Bellevue (65), Bismarck State (61), and Dickinson State (41), round out places two-through-seven.

The Bulldogs finished eighth in the voting with 34 points.

Valley City State was picked ninth with 32 points while MSU-Northern and Providence tied for 10th with 18 points each.

Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.

The FC Cross Country Championships will be held at Amend Park in Billings Nov. 6.

The conference championship-winning team will receive the Frontier's automatic bid to the 2026 NAIA Cross Country National Championships. This year's meet is set to take place at Fort Vancouver Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash., Nov. 20.

2026 Frontier Conference Women's Cross Country Coaches' Preseason Poll

Rank	Team	Points	First-Place Votes
1.	Carroll	100	9
2.	Montana Tech	91	1
3.	Dakota State	74
4.	Rocky Mountain	71
5.	Bellevue	65
6.	Bismarck State	61
7.	Dickinson State	41
8.	Montana Western	34
9.	Valley City State	32
T-10.	MSU-Northern	18
T-10.	Providence	18

2025 SEASON RECAP
Montana Western finished 10th at the 2025 Frontier Conference Championships. The Bulldogs highest finish of the season was eighth at both the MSU Bobcat Twilight and Bengal Invitational meets.

ON THE START LINE…
The Bulldogs are returning four runners from the 2025 roster.

Seniors Olivia Heiner and Justene Santi will lead UMW for their final season.

Kylee Wyatt returns for her junior campaign as well while redshirt-freshman Tiarra Norris will race in the Red and Black for the first time this season after sitting out the 2025 campaign through injury.

Western added strength to the team with two transfers and six freshmen. Dillon, Mont., native Abbi Lemelin is back home for her junior season after two years at Concordia Moorhead. Redshirt-freshman Kaelyn Sangray transferred to UMW after one year at MSU-Billings.

Cadence Cameron, Taylor Gable, Madison Lohmeyer, Wrennie McGarr, Shaelee Novak, and Natalee Stevens are all set for their debut seasons with the Bulldogs.

CALLING THE SHOTS
Head Coach Taylor Grove enters her fourth season at the helm of the Bulldog Cross Country program. Her runners have earned four Frontier All-Conference nods in her tenure.

COMING UP
The Bulldogs open the 2026 season at the MSU Bobcat Twilight meet Sept. 4. The women's 5k is set to start at 7:45 p.m. MT.

For complete coverage of UMW Cross Country, be sure to follow us on social media at @umw_xc_track (Instagram), @UMW_XC_Track (X), and @Montana Western Athletics (Facebook) or visit our official website at UMWBulldogs.com.

#GOBULLDOGS!

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Players Mentioned

Cadence Cameron: Freshman

Taylor Gable: Freshman

Olivia Heiner: Senior

Abbi Lemelin: Junior

Madison Lohmeyer: Freshman

Wrennie McGarr: Freshman

Tiarra Norris: Redshirt Freshman

SheaLee Novak: Freshman

Kaelyn Sangray: Redshirt Freshman

Justene Santi: Senior

Natalee Stevens: Freshman

Kylee Wyatt: Junior

Players Mentioned

Cadence Cameron
: Freshman

Taylor Gable
: Freshman

Olivia Heiner
: Senior

Abbi Lemelin
: Junior

Madison Lohmeyer
: Freshman

Wrennie McGarr
: Freshman

Tiarra Norris
: Redshirt Freshman

SheaLee Novak
: Freshman

Kaelyn Sangray
: Redshirt Freshman

Justene Santi
: Senior

Natalee Stevens
: Freshman

Kylee Wyatt
: Junior